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Friday, September 17, 2010

Appeal to Call off protest at Kashmir Military Camps

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had asked supporters to hold "peaceful protests" outside camps.An army spokesman accused the Hurriyat group of "trying to whip up passions".Meanwhile, in the latest Kashmir clash, four people were wounded after security forces opened fire to disperse an anti-India protest in Budgam district.Anti-India sentiments are high in Indian-administered Kashmir where nearly 100 protesters have died since June.Nearly all of those killed were shot dead by government forces. The entire valley has been under curfew for six days.The Indian government has announced that a fact-finding team will visit the region on Monday to meet different sections of the population and gather all shades of opinion."It's a deliberate ploy by the Hurriyat Conference to try to whip up passions and embroil the Indian army in the ongoing agitation," a defence spokesman in Srinagar, Lt-Col JS Brar, said."I appeal to all the peace-loving people of Kashmir to ensure that these nefarious designs are not brought to fruit," he added.On Thursday, Mr Geelani called for protesters to block army camps with sit-in demonstrations."I have urged people to stage peaceful sit-in protests in front of army and security force camps in Kashmir," he said.Correspondents say the sit-ins will pose a new challenge to security forces who are struggling to restore order.On Friday morning, police said they had opened fire on stone-throwing protesters in Budgam.An army patrol, accompanied by police, was passing through Chupora village in Beerwah town when a group of protesters pelted it with stones.The troops fired live ammunition, injuring four people, police said.On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired an all-party meeting over continuing violence in Kashmir.Separatist leaders dismissed the gathering as a public relations ploy.Many analysts see the recent protests as the biggest challenge to Indian rule in Kashmir for two decades.The Kashmir dispute has been the cause of major tension between India and Pakistan for six decades.